Birthday
by DimensionSlip
Summary: To others, it's a day of celebration. But for Ludger, it's a day of commemoration. Set after the good ending. Ludger x Lara.


Marksburg, new as it was, saw a lot for a town of its age. Born as a symbol of unity between two formerly separated nations, it bore witness to the turmoil wrought by the said two nations in an attempt to live harmoniously. As the literal and symbolic center of Elympios and Rieze Maxia, it was a place where many people gathered and found themselves at a crossroad. To some, it played host to various unions and partings. Of difficult battles and trials, some of a personal nature.

It was with such thoughts and memories in mind that he, the young leader of Spirius, the most influential corporation in the whole of Elympios, became one of the first people to build a home in the reclaimed area introduced as a residential zone, just a little over five years ago. It reminded him of the price the world had to pay for its continued survival, and with that, the work that was left to be done to ensure its continued existence. And while most would dismiss these few lives as nothing, to him, it meant the world.

People knew of him as "Victor", their hero, the one who saved all of mankind by selflessly wishing for its salvation. But only a few knew of a little girl who stood by his side, who made the ultimate sacrifice so that he and the rest of the world could live out their happy ending. Little did they know that he was once known as Ludger Will Kresnik, who lived under the shadow of his older brother for the longest time—the same brother who sacrificed his own life so that he might have a future. The same Ludger Will Kresnik who was once only able to utilize his powers by the grace of his invaluable partner—who he lost in favor of saving the world.

But now, to most of the populace, he was no longer that Ludger. He was now "Victor"—the cool, calm, and collected CEO of Spirius Corporation. Victor, the one who, despite his age back then, managed to effectively lead the said corporation. Victor, the one who funded life-changing research such as that of spyrite technology led by Dr. Jude Mathis. Victor, the one who, as fate would have it, met and married the one who would later bear his child—the same one he lost not too long ago. Victor, the one who was now a father and today, celebrated his daughter's eighth birthday.

And was running horribly late to it.

Ludger sat on the backyard porch of his home in Marksburg, staring out into the ocean that stretched beyond the horizon and letting his thoughts wander idly. As fate would have had it, the trains were delayed by some malfunction mishap, so he was bound to the place for now while he waited for a notification that they were up and running again. While he would have minded some other day, this delay was more than welcome today, for it allowed him more time for some personal reflection.

Alas, his peace was meant to be momentary, for his phone rang about 30 minutes into his moment of peace.

With a twinge of annoyance at being interrupted out of his reverie, he took his phone out of his jacket, having a pretty good idea of who the caller might be. His suspicions were not unfounded, for the caller ID blinked "Lara Mel Marta" as expected. Much as he was not in the mood to pick it up, he decided to do after five rings, considering that a pissed off Lara was not something he wanted to deal with once he saw her again. Someone once said that the nicest people were the scariest when angry, and Lara was no exception to that.

And so, he pressed the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Daddy, Daddy! When're you coming home?"

At the sound of his daughter's voice, his irritation dissolved, though it was promptly replaced by nervous knots that formed in his stomach. Hearing her speak still chilled him to the bone, especially when he was caught off guard. He knew he shouldn't compare, but she just sounded so painfully similar to the Elle he lost. It was not fair, but there was no helping the feelings of nostalgia and sorrow that crept up whenever they talked to each other.

"Daddy, are you still there?"

Realizing that he forgot to reply, he managed to swallow back his surprise. "Yes, Daddy's still here. Sorry, sweetheart," Ludger allowed himself a small smile, imagining his daughter pouting at his use of the term of endearment, "but the trains are still down. I'll be back as soon as I can, though I can't promise a specific time. I do promise to run all the way home once I get off Drellin Station."

"Um, OK! I'll tell her later. But you'd better come home soon, or…"

Something in her worried tone caused alarm bells to ring in his head. "Or what?"

"Auntie Milla has been drooling at all the food Mommy prepared, and I think in a few minutes, even Uncle Jude won't be able stop her from eating everything in sight."

Ludger laughed out loud in both amusement and relief, oblivious to how strange it sounded.

"Daddy," his daughter's confused voice came up, "why are you laughing?"

"By the way you were speaking, I thought something was going to blow up the house!" Not that Milla wasn't capable of such a feat, but regardless, he was glad Jude did not have much trouble summoning Milla for the occasion.

"But this is a serious problem!" she said, indignant. "If she eats all the food, we won't have anything to serve King Gaius and Grandpa Rowen when they come over!"

"Listen, dear. If Milla eats all the food, I'll make some mabo curry enough for all of us, OK?"

"Really?" He could almost imagine her eyes lighting up at his words. "And you'll make it Elle-style?"

"Yes," he said in a surprisingly steady voice, glad that she could not see his face then, "Elle-style."

"Yay—" A loud crash came over the phone, followed by some unintelligible shouting, courtesy of a voice which sounded suspiciously like Leia's. "—hold on a sec," A crackle came over their connection, probably from her covering the mouthpiece with her hand—though Ludger could still make out murmuring from beyond the phone.

"Mommy wants to talk to you," she said after a short pause.

"OK." Ludger steeled himself for an earful, quite sure that the crash from earlier was courtesy of one of his guests.

And he was not disappointed.

"Ludger Will Kresnik, come back here this instant! This place is a madhouse!"

Though it was exasperation of a different kind, one that made Ludger sigh in relief once more. Despite her words, Ludger could detect a hint of amusement in her tone. Lara was probably enjoying the jungle that their house has turned into, considering how it was mostly just his daughter and her that stayed in that place. The noise should have been a welcome change from the tranquillity that enveloped them for a better part of the year.

"Sorry, Lara, can't do anything about that. The trains are down. I sent you a text an hour ago, remember?"

Lara sighed over the phone. "I know. And that's why I keep on telling you to return home after work, else bring your work home the way I do."

It was one of their few arguments as a married couple, and one that Lara couldn't win. While Lara loved their house by Lake Epsilla, it didn't feel like home the way their modest house in Marksburg was, at least in his opinion. Probably because looking outside didn't remind him of how he killed his future self and how he traumatized a certain little girl as a result, though Lara did not have to know that.

"Well, what can I do? Our employees like seeing their boss around. Better set an example for them, especially since their other boss likes to work from home."

"Then you might as well sleep on your desk, you workaholic," she said affectionately, "Or get an apartment in Tri—"

She paused in belated realization, noticing the still silence between the two of them. "…Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up," she said softly, all cheer gone from her voice.

What Lara did know, was how he killed his brother in a fractured dimension of the latter's creation—in the very same apartment where he was raised and brought up. And despite his reassurances that he had moved on from the incident, she knew of the nightmares that plagued him when he was at Trigleph, having witnessed them first hand before.

"Never mind that," he said, putting as much cheer as he could in his voice. "Is everything OK over there? I could've sworn I heard a crash earlier."

"Oh, that was just Pollo being a little too enthusiastic in greeting our guests. Leia accidentally knocked over the coat stand when he pounced on her."

"Why in the world would he do that?"

"I think it's the fish Leia brought with her as a family present. You know how much Pollo loves his tuna."

"Have you been feeding him?" Ludger asked worriedly. "He only gets like that if he doesn't get enough food."

"Don't be silly! I've been feeding them faithfully each day."

"Really…"

She laughed at his dubious tone. "Ludger, you spoil the cats too much. Do you really want Pollo to become as fat as Rollo?"

"Rollo's not fat! He's just—"

"I know, I know. Healthy. But don't blame me if he keels over one day thanks to a heart attack."

"Normally, I'd say that's not funny, but that aside, what did you want to talk about?" Surely, Lara had a good reason for taking the phone from their daughter. "I doubt it's about my questionable work ethic."

"Ah, right. I just wanted to tell you to take care over there. I've been listening to the news, and it seems like there's a storm coming over from the west. Alvin also told me that a Rieze Maxian ship got into an accident on the way to Marksburg, among other things..." she trailed off, perturbed. "Disregarding what I said earlier, perhaps it's best if you just stayed put over there…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Lara. I promised I'd be there for our daughter's birthday. Also, I'm going to earn the title of 'World's Worst Dad' if Gaius and Rowen, busy as they are, manage to make it there and I don't."

Before Lara could reply, a voice rang across the city, announcing that the trains were literally back on track and that services will resume shortly.

"…Gotta go, seems like the train finally arrived. But before I forget…"

"Yes?"

"Tell our daughter not to encourage Milla to finish all the food." He grimaced. "I think I just made a promise I might not be able to keep."

Lara chuckled. "I'll keep an eye on Elle. As for you, take care on the way home. Love you, Ludger."

"Will do. Love you too." Smiling as they said their goodbyes, he hung up and lifted his gaze to the heavens. Amidst his confusion about his daughter, he was genuinely glad that he'd be able to see his friends again after so long—those who knew him as "Ludger" rather than "Victor". Ever since their journey together, they've been very much busy with their lives, making the world a better place one way or another, and this was the first time in years that they were to be together again in one room after so long.

But before anything else, he had some business to finish here.

He rose from his spot and knelt next to a grey carved stone, on which lay a pocket watch, a vase of white lilies, a plate of mabo curry, and a cupcake decorated with a small candle. Lighting the candle on the cupcake, he cradled it with both hands and willed his voice to be steady once more.

"Happy 18th Birthday, Elle."

He blew out the candle and with one long look at the pocket watch, lay the cupcake on the makeshift grave. Pressing a hand to his face, he let out a choked sob as memories of a certain eight-year old from ten years ago came flooding in. Of green eyes shining bright with the promise of reaching a certain land. Of arguments over tomatoes and spicy mabo curry. Of puffed cheeks and terse comebacks. Of a face, tainted by a tell-tale black, yet smiling through unfathomable pain as lips parted slowly to bid him goodbye—all disappearing as the ultimate sacrifice for his sake and the world's was completed.

A sacrifice that was not meant to be and should not have been.


End file.
